Meet the people behind dino-fossils UK, bringing their passion for the prehistoric to Cardiff’s historic shopping arcade.
While other cities lament their dying high streets, Cardiff proves it’s a place where independent shops can thrive, as Britain’s largest online fossil supplier opens its doors in the city’s royal arcade.
“We’ve been selling fossils online since 2012 and we’ve just set up our first shop last week,” said Matthew Evans, co-owner of dino fossils UK. “I started to sell some of the things that I’d already bought for fairly cheap so I could make a little bit of money to help me collect (more fossils). It turned into a little part-time business and then more of a full-time business. Then I met my partner and in 2019 he quit his job, and we decided to have a proper go at it.”
Since then, the business has grown steadily from a small online shopfront to one of the UK’s largest suppliers of fossils, with their customers ranging from museums to movie stars. Now they’ve opened their first in-person store. “You don’t know how anything’s gonna go until you open the door, so it was terrifying really… But everyone seems to love the shop. It’s been going really well; we’ve had lots of people in buying Christmas gifts.”
“We are delighted to welcome dino fossils to the Morgan Quarter” said Marika Jones centre manager of Cardiff’s Morgan Quarter, speaking to WalesOnline. “Opening just ahead of the festive season, it is an exciting time to introduce this unique addition to the city. Dino fossils brings something truly distinctive to the ever-growing range of independent retailers within the historic Royal Arcade.”
Dino Fossils UK pride themselves on selling certified fossils. “Everything we put out we label and identify. We’ve prided ourselves on making sure everything is exactly what we say it is.” They even offer a lifetime guarantee, refunding the purchase if a fossil is professionally verified as mislabelled, though such a refund hasn’t been required in their 12 years of business.
The store boasts a broad range of prehistoric treasures from tyrannosaur teeth and triceratops horns to woolly rhino jaws and fossilized dinosaur eggs. Their stock spans several geological epochs including fossils as old as 3.4 billion years such as stromatolites alongside items like megalodon teeth. Adding to its appeal, the shop’s centerpiece is a life-sized replica of a Deinonychus skeleton which towers over customers as they browse.
For Dino Fossils, the journey from online retail to a physical store has been transformative. Their story highlights the challenges and rewards of stepping into high-street retail during uncertain times. Cardiff’s shoppers in turn benefit from a distinctive new addition that sets the city apart as a destination for independent retail.
